Online scams and digital fraud are a growing threat to people and organizations.
Their effects can be far-reaching, from financial losses to reputational damage and the erosion of trust among customers and partners.
Learning to spot scams is crucial to staying safe online. Here are some common scams and how to avoid falling victim.
Phishing and spear phishing
Phishing occurs when an attacker impersonates a legitimate entity to steal sensitive information, such as your account credentials, financial details, or sensitive files.
Spear phishing is the targeted form where the attacker tailors their message to a specific person or organization.
For example, the victim receives an email pretending to be from their bank or credit card provider. The email says there has been unusual activity on your account. To confirm everything is OK, the victim needs to urgently validate their password by clicking the link below. The link goes to a fake website run by cybercriminals, who will harvest any personal information that the victim enters.
To spot a phishing or spear phishing attack, look for the following signs:
- Surprise: The message arrives unexpectedly and asks for personal information.
- Urgency: The message It urges the recipient to take immediate action to avoid unpleasant consequences.
- Mistakes: The message contains spelling and grammar errors or fuzzy, low-quality graphics.
- Strange links and addresses: For example, the sender’s address and the call-to-action link might use a lookalike domain, such as MyBaink.com in place of MyBank.com.
The main way to thwart phishing attacks is to always confirm that a message is genuine before taking any action. For example, by contacting the provider’s legitimate client service.
Identity theft
Identity theft occurs when cyercriminals unlawfully obtain and use someone’s personal information, such as their social security number or credit card details, usually for financial gain.
People and organisations can protect themsevles by:
- Using strong, unique passwords for your online accounts and updating them regularly.
- Enabling two-factor authentication wherever possible.
- Checking their your bank and credit card statements carefully for unusual activity.
Account takeovers
In an account takeover fraud, a cybercriminal gains access to an online account, such as a corporate email-, banking-, or social media account. They can do this using phishing, credential stuffing, or malware.
Users can keep their accounts secure by:
- Using unique, strong passwords and updating them regularly.
- Never basing passwords on the names of their favorite sports teams, celebrities, pets, or anything else that cybercriminals might be able to guess from their social media profiles..
- Enabling account activity alers whenever someone tries to access their account.
Online payment fraud
Cybercriminals can use stolen financial information to perform unauthorized transactions. They can get this information in various ways, such as through data breaches, phishing, or using malware that harvests users’ payment details when they make purchases online.
Ways to protect against online fraud include :
- Only buying from secure websites. Secure sites use HTTPS in their address and display the padlock icon in the browser address bar.
- Always using secure payment methods like credit cards or services such as PayPal.
- Never making a purchase over public Wi-Fi.
Cyber scams
Cyber scams come in many forms. They often use emotional pressure to manipulate their victims into handing over money or personal information. Examples include:
- Lottery scams: The victim receives a surprise notification that you’ve won a prize in a lottery, perhaps in another country. To claim their prize, they must pay a fee or send their bank details. .
- Online dating scams: Cybercriminals create a fake profile on social media or a dating app and hook teh victim into a long-distance relationship. After a time, they ask for money to resolve some personal problem or take advantage of an unmissable investment opportunity.
- Tech support scams: The victim receives a phone call from someone pretending to be from a well-known tech company. They say there’s a problem with your computer and they ask for remote access to fix it. Tey then run fake diagnostic tests and charge for the service.
To avoid these scams, everyone should always be wary online:
- Never hand over money, personal information, or remote access to devices or files unless it’s to a trusted and verified person or organization.
- Never allow a cold caller to access your computer.
- Remember, if an offer seems too good to be true, it usually is
Stay informed, stay vigilant, and stay safe
The Internet can be a dangerous place. Understanding the risks and spotting the danger signals can help your organization to avoid falling victim to cybercriminals.
